goopanic’s stellar journey in logo and branding

goopanic (real name Anton Proskuryakov) hasn’t always worked with branding & identity, which is surprising considering his impressive portfolio. Rather, he started his career in 3D modeling before moving toward the designs we know him for today.

He was especially intrigued to participate in our logo rebrand contest, as he has helped us with the Designer Advocates program branding in the past. Despite having the upper hand on knowing more about where we were heading stylistically, Anton remains the humble person that he is, offering his unique take and working closely with the team in what he has described as a “fun journey”.

Read on to learn more about what inspires Anton and his design career.

How did you first get into design?

I first got into design when I was studying at university about 15-16 years ago. Actually I started with 3D modeling and was doing it for about 3 or 4 years. A good friend of mine had already worked in the industry for a couple years by that time, and he taught me some things about 3D.

After that I switched to graphic design – logos, web sites, print. I don’t know what exactly made me interested in design. Graphic design allow you to express yourself to the world, I guess that’s the main reason. If you have that desire in you, you will always end up being an artist in some way or another.

Describe to us your typical day as a designer

There is no typical day. One and only rule for every creative person: to create something today, then tomorrow and then again and again, every day. So the typical daily task for me is to create something.

What inspires you?

Good design. Everything that surrounds me. Sometimes what I experienced during the day. Music.

What are you interested in other than design?

Music. I have always been a great fan of thoughtful music. I love really weird music.

Do you have your most memorable project on 99designs?

Hard to tell. But I guess the [99designs] Advocate program branding. I like how it went, and I felt really inspired during the process, because the brief was really good, the client was supportive and fully delegated the creative process to me, focusing only on refinement.

What do you think you’ll be doing if you weren’t on 99designs? How has this carved a different path for you?

If I wasn’t on 99designs, I most definitely would end up working in some design studio.

99designs was my first experience as a freelancer on a global scale. Before that, I worked mostly for local clients. 99designs gives me more freedom as a designer. It’s a great opportunity to become more skillful, if you know what you’re doing and take every project seriously.

What did you think when you first heard about our logo rebrand contest?

Curious. Admittedly, I already saw an earlier revision of the branding guidelines as it was part of the brief for the Advocate program branding. I understood there would be tons of designs and a great competition. But I’ve decided to participate anyway. And it turned out to be a fun journey.

What were your first thoughts when you saw our new brand?

To be honest, the initial brief was confusing. But I guess it was aimed more on a creativity check for designers; to be able to go through all possible options designers could offer during the qualification round.

Guidelines that were sent to the finalists were more focused and already had overall image of a brand with a key element. All we have to do as finalists is to follow those guidelines and come up with a logo to support the brand.

Looking at our old logo, what’s the one thing you want to change about it?

If we’re talking about the old logo, nothing. I think real branding just happened during the long process which ended with that contest.

Before that it was just a logo, a recognizable sign. Now it’s a brand. It’s a natural evolution process for every successful company. And I am glad that I had an opportunity to be a part of that process.

Tell us about the moment you found out you’re a finalist!

I was thrilled by the opportunity to contribute to the community and confused because it seemed to me that I already tried all possible options from the brief and was standing at the point where I wasn’t even close to the final logo.

Anything else you can tell us about this whole experience so far? What’s the most memorable thing for you during this entire contest?

Feedback. You guys happened to be really supportive and didn’t push too hard, totally relying on our creativity. And that is an awesome thing. Thank you again to allow us to be a part of rebranding process and a part of the 99designs brand.

The author

Sasha is part of the Designer Marketing team, based in Melbourne, Australia. Aside from developing content that helps 99designers to upskill and have fun designing, she also provides support for the Indonesian community. She was born in Indonesia, before moving to Melbourne at the age of 13. When not procrastinating, she likes swimming, writing and cooking.